Anishinaabe Clan System - Social Order

Social Order

Some national sub-divisions were simply referred by their major Clan component. An example of this would be Maandawe-doodem ("Fisher-clan") of the Meshkwahkihaki peoples, who live along the south shore of Lake Superior. More inland than the Maandawe-doodem were the Waagosh-doodem ("Fox clan") of the Meshkwahkihaki, who are called the Fox Tribe in English. When the Maandawe were defeated in a major battle between the Ojibwe and the Meshkwahkihaki peoples, the surviving Maandawe were adopted as part of the Ojibwa nation, but instead as the Waabizheshi-doodem ("Marten clan"). Among some Ojibwe people, (though not all) the Waabizheshi clan is also used to denote a form of adoption, i.e., a non-native father and Ojibwe mother. In other instances, for example, odoodem communities such as the Amikwaa were treated as fully interdependent Nations of the Anishinaabeg Confederacy, or given a designation to represent their primary function in the social order, such as with the Manoominikeshiinyag ("Ricing-rails") or the Waawaashkeshi-ininiwag ("Deer Men").

Some doodem indicate non-Ojibwe origins. Other than Waabizheshi, these include the Ma'iingan-doodem (Wolf Clan) for Dakota and Migizi-doodem (Eagle Clan) for Americans. There are other odoodem considered rare today among the Ojibwa because the odoodem have migrated into other tribes, such as the Nibiinaabe-doodem (Merman Clan), which shows up as the Water-spirits Clan of the Winnebagoes.